Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Sells 7,331 Shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Key Points

• Generali Asset Management SPA SGR significantly reduced its holdings in Ulta Beauty Inc. by 98%, selling 7,331 shares and retaining only 147 shares, which were valued at $69,000.
• Several other investors have increased their positions in Ulta Beauty, including Mirae Asset Global Investments and J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG, highlighting strong institutional interest with 90.39% of the stock owned by institutional investors.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Ulta Beauty, with ratings indicating a consensus of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $550.38, following strong earnings that exceeded analyst estimates.

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR trimmed its position in shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 98.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 147 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 7,331 shares during the quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR's holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $69,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Ulta Beauty by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,092 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,190,000 after acquiring an additional 924 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ulta Beauty by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,179 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $395,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Finally, J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG boosted its position in Ulta Beauty by 167.8% during the 2nd quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 4,513 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,111,000 after acquiring an additional 2,828 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mike C. Smith sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.43, for a total value of $264,215.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,263 shares in the company, valued at $1,195,837.09. The trade was a 18.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on ULTA shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $510.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Loop Capital reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $510.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $530.00 to $584.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $595.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $550.38.

Ulta Beauty Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ ULTA opened at $533.51 on Friday. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a twelve month low of $309.01 and a twelve month high of $572.23. The firm has a market cap of $23.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.46, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a 50 day moving average of $531.17 and a 200 day moving average of $470.40.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 28th. The specialty retailer reported $5.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.03 by $0.75. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.31% and a return on equity of 48.78%. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.30 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ulta Beauty Company Profile

Ulta Beauty, Inc operates as a specialty beauty retailer in the United States. The company offers branded and private label beauty products, including cosmetics, fragrance, haircare, skincare, bath and body products, professional hair products, and salon styling tools through its Ulta Beauty stores, shop-in-shops, Ulta.com website, and its mobile applications.

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